[News] Trump's chaotic end of term puts his brand at risk

[EvKirito]

An economic empire built on a name, a name now associated with a political career. When Donald Trump leaves the White House on Wednesday, he will have a lot to do to salvage his brand, which is now synonymous with extremes.

Before he became president, "the Trump brand was very powerful," says Melissa Aronczyk, a communications scholar at Rutgers University in New Jersey.

"It was a trademark" of success, a "symbol of triumph", wealth and success.

From luxury hotels to exclusive real estate to golf courses, the Trump name is ubiquitous in entities of the Trump Organization based on New York's iconic Fifth Avenue.

 

 

But Trump's four years in the presidency, marked by extremist positions, and especially the last days after the assault on Congress by his staunch supporters, have put the business of the dynasty in jeopardy.

The Trump brand has become "toxic" because it is associated with chaos and racism, sums up Tim Calkins, a marketing professor at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, who doubts the brand's ability to reposition itself. According to the expert, the damage is already significant.

Since the violent events on Capitol Hill on January 6, which left five dead, the bad news has accumulated.

Many companies have cut ties or distanced themselves from Donald Trump and his family holding company.

Signature Bank has already started closing the president's accounts, according to a spokeswoman, while Deutsche Bank no longer wants to do business with him, according to US media.

In New York, the Democratic mayor has terminated contracts that allowed the Trump Organization to run attractions in Central Park and a Bronx golf course.

The 2022 PGA Golf Championship will not be held at the Trump National Club in Bedminster, New Jersey. "Our brand was on the line," said Seth Waugh, managing director of the organizing body, last week.

- Debt-

Could these setbacks put the Trump Organization in jeopardy when the covid-19 pandemic has already severely affected its hotels? It's hard to tell, since the Trump galaxy is opaque.

As the group is not listed on the stock exchange, the accounts are not made public. According to Forbes magazine, the Trump empire generated nearly $ 2 billion in revenue between 2017 and 2019, primarily from golf courses, exclusive resorts and private clubs, licensing royalties, and purchases. Also commercial real estate in New York and San Francisco.

AFP consulted the Trump Organization about the economic impact and violent events in Congress, but did not receive a response.

The only certainty is that the group has a debt of about 400 million dollars.

"It is a tiny percentage of my net worth," however Donald Trump said last October, according to The Washington Post.

Forbes magazine estimated his fortune at $ 2.5 billion on Friday, down from $ 3.7 billion at the end of 2016, before his arrival in the White House.

- Ivanka -

Despite his setbacks, the president can count on staunch followers.

"There will always be a group of people who will support Donald Trump no matter what he says, no matter what he does," says Capri Cafaro, a professor at American University.

Events at the Capitol finally showed that his supporters were ready to follow him at all costs.

Historically, brands always end up recovering from scandals and controversies over time, Melissa Aronczyk stresses, citing the example of Volkswagen and the case of rigged pollutant emissions.

While the billionaire is likely to be inundated with court cases in the short term, says Aronczyk, "it's possible the brand will rebound."

His future also depends on the billionaire's place in the media in the future, she argues.

"Trump has not been president of the establishment and he will not be a former president of the establishment," added Capri Cafaro.

One of the options to promote the Trump brand is also to play the card of Ivanka, the president's daughter, especially since she has been careful to stay away from the latest scandals.

Her brand is "intact," even Melissa Aronczyk notes.

But the financial renaissance of the Trump brand could mean the creation of a new medium, says Michael D’Antonio, author of biographies on the billionaire.

Thus, he imagines Donald Trump as a "political evangelist" on his own television channel, which could be accessed through a subscription at $ 4.99 or $ 9.99 per month, and which would be broadcast from Florida.